China and the World of Business • China Business and the World

Step one is to ban outdoor advertising. The next step will be to ban advertising altogether. The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest is enough of an irritant in Chinese society that the average Chinese doesn’t need it rubbed in his face.

Among other things, this is going to force luxury marketers to shift spend to below the line and move toward a much more highly targeted approach.

There is going to be pushback against luxury cars in the capitol at some point soon. Watch for it.

Groupon’s public justification for their Superbowl ad is nothing short of an abdication of responsibility. As a matter of principle, the client, not the agency, has final responsibility for the editorial content of any advertising. And as Professor Patrick J. Murphy of DePaul told me, that responsibility includes understanding the market before you make such calls.